‘Fallout’ Season One Review
Image Source: Deadline
There was a point in time, not that long ago, where one could mention video game adaptations for movies or TV and it would be met with disdain or apprehension. Who could blame them for that response? There are plenty of examples to draw from that were the source of those reactions. The Super Mario Bros. movie from the 90s, or the original Mortal Kombat movie, or Street Fighter? What about Assassin’s Creed? They’d been tried and typically fall flat.
Those winds have changed, however, with plenty of newer examples that have beaten the odds and overcome what was beginning to be seen as a curse. Sonic the Hedgehog, The Last of Us, a new Super Mario Bros., and even Uncharted wasn’t terrible. It seems to be spawning a renaissance in game adaptations, and now, we can add legendary game franchise Fallout to the list of successes.
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Fallout takes place in the far future, about 300 years from now when the world has been destroyed by nuclear war. Some people survived on the surface, trying to live in the wasteland of what survives, and others survived underground, in massive fallout shelters called Vaults, built by a shady mega corporation called Vault Tec. As is pretty typical of a Fallout game, the story plays out over hundreds of years and follows the journeys of a vault dweller (those who live in the Vaults) named Lucy MacLean, Maximus, a down-on-his-luck squire in the fascist, cultish Brotherhood of Steel, and a bounty hunter named The Ghoul. Their goals may not all be the same, but they all lead to the same place, with Lucy trying to find her father (a nice homage to Fallout’s main stories) and the others trying to acquire a piece of technology that can change the world.
Ella Purnell’s Lucy and Aaron Moten’s Maximus look at the devastation that was brought to Shady Sands.
Image Source: IGN Nordic
It’s best to look at adaptations as objectively as possible. Is it possible to ignore the source material? No, not necessarily, as that’s the source of the worldbuilding. So, if we’re going to grade Fallout solely on its adherence to the established lore and worldbuilding of the source material, it gets an A- (the only thing it failed to include were the franchise staple super mutants). It has radroaches, the Wasteland, Ghouls, Vaults, twisting stories and shady dealings, and even the odd, wacky behavior of the denizens of the wasteland. It’s everything a Fallout fan could want in a show.
The attention to detail is beyond parallel. While it’s not Amazon’s most expensive production (that one belongs to The Rings of Power), the money that was budgeted is well spent. From power armor to even the food on the table in the background, everything looks like it is straight out of a Fallout game, helping immerse the viewer in the world that is Fallout.
Walton Goggins, who’s been on a steady rise in his acting career, steals the show as The Ghoul, a ghoul (humans exposed to too much radiation and look like zombies) bounty hunter who comes across a big payday that entangles him with Lucy and Maximus’ story. This is all amidst a cast that really deliver spectacular performances. Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean wonderfully plays the part of a naïve vault dweller thrown into the violent and unforgiving world of the Wasteland, having to figure out how to survive while also holding on to what makes her Lucy. Maximus, played by Aaron Moten, is a bumbling, careless squire in the Brotherhood of Steel, a fascistic cult who have tasked themselves with restoring order to the Wasteland through acquiring pre-war tech. He’s constantly trying to prove himself and find his courage, and when he gets a suit of power armor, all of that is put to the test.
What’s more iconic of the Fallout franchise than the power armor of the Brotherhood of Steel?
Image Source: IGN
They’re accompanied by a fantastic and quirky cast of supporting characters, like Norm, Lucy’s brother, played by Moisés Arias. Kyle MacLachlan plays Lucy and Norm’s father, who is overseer of Vault 33 and plays a central role in the mystery that unfolds in the background, the strings that are being pulled, so to speak. They round out a list of supporting cast that help deliver the zany and dark humor that Fallout is known for. The only disappointment is they did not include a super mutant within that tradition.
The story is well written. The games are known for main stories that reveal something bigger going on, and the show doesn’t disappoint on that end. With a few side quests thrown in along the way, each episode utilizes the time jumps between the past (2077) and the future/present (2296) to unravel a bigger story and mystery, all of which surrounds this piece of technology everyone is after. It’s woven really well together that comes to a head and with the final revelations. But it doesn’t end there and leaves room for a second season, which is likely to be announced soon.
In all, Fallout was a risky move to take, but done in a masterful way, both in the writing and the acting, which helped deliver a pure treat for fans of the games and newcomers alike. The show is streaming in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video.
Rating: 10/10
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Source(s): Prime Video
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